This is an official announcement from Big Vin Records to let you know that in just 13 days, the ONLY official book about DIMEBAG, “He Came To Rock” will be hitting store shelves (Best Buy, Borders, Hot Topic, Amazon, Hastings and many others).

If you’re too lazy or can’t make it to one of these outlets you can always order online directly from BigVinRecords.com.

The book is a photo gallery assembled from private and personal collections from friends and family as well as submissions from some of the world’s best photographers along with the stories behind the photos.

Also included is a revised version of Dimevision on DVD that now includes some never before seen bonus clips made by Dime!

To launch the release of the book, Vinnie Paul will be doing a book signing tour at the following cities:

11/18 – Hard Rock Cafe (outside the casino) Las Vegas, NV

11/19 – Best Buy (location and time TBA) Los Angeles, CA

11/21 – Best Buy (location and time TBA) Dallas, TX

11/22 – Best Buy (location and time TBA) NYC, NY

Check back for more information on exact locations and times. This book further establishes Dimebag’s legendary status as one of the most bad ass rockers ever! We hope to see you all there!

British rockers STONE GODS have just been announced as the main support to BLACK STONE CHERRY on their UK tour next month!!

Currently on the road with Aussie headbangers AIRBOURNE, the guys will only have a weeks rest before hitting the road once more….no rest for the seriously rockin’!

It has been an incredible year of achievements for the Stone Gods – their debut release, the ‘Burn The Witch’ EP, sold out within hours of going on sale and hit the UK Rock Chart at number 2. The band played triumphant sets at this year’s Download and Isle of Wight Festivals and toured with Velvet Revolver. Their debut album was released in July to critical and commercial success. And to top it all, they received TWO nominations for the 2008 Classic Rock Magazine Awards (Best New Band and Album Of The Year)!

In a blog posted on Blind Melon’s myspace page titled Heartbreak Hotel: Room 667 the band announced they had parted ways with vocalist Travis Warren. According to the band, they had to cancel two weeks worth of dates because Warren was having throat problems but instead of following his doctor’s advice and resting his throat Warren continued chain smoking, here is a quote from the band “God dropped a Stradivarius down Travis’s throat, but the reality is that he treats it like a broken pawnshop fiddle. It is very difficult to maintain a rigorous touring schedule while chain smoking. ”

The band tried to set Warren up with a specialist to make sure everything was OK with his throat before starting the tour back up. Warren apparently blew off his scheduled appointment, then stopped communicating with the band altogether. Finally after two weeks of trying to make contact with him, Warren contacted the band’s manager and according to the band Warren said the following during a 20 minute conversation “Travis stated that if we couldn’t understand that he needed this time to himself, then he didn’t want to be in a band with us anymore. He complained about being underpaid and overworked (we all make the same thing and we all work as hard as he does). He said that he didn’t want to play the US anymore and that he was under-appreciated. He complained about playing the same songs in the same towns.”

Blind Melon tried to keep their tour on schedule by getting Chris Shinn, lead singer for Unified Theory, to fill in for Warren, but it proved to be an impossible task for Shinn to learn the band’s song in a mere two days. According to the band “We are canceling the tour outright and will now start to shovel our way out of this enormous mess. We will have more news about what our plans are concerning the future this week. We’re sorry for the confusion, the bad vibes, the drama and the letdowns. We understand the disappointment and anger that you feel towards us. We are angry and disappointed too. We aim to make it up to you soon…..We’re going on a journey and we’ll bring you back something great…….”

As always there are two sides to every story and this is the band’s version. There is no word as yet if Travis Warren will be making a statement sharing his side of the story. You can read the entire blog by checking out Blind Melon’s myspace page.

In front of a capacity crowd at the world-famous Whisky A-Go-Go, complete with music industry tastemakers, Guitar Center and MÖTLEY CRÜE selected THE LAST VEGAS from Chicago, Illinois as the winner of Guitar Center On-Stage last night.

Over the past eight weeks, bands across the United States submitted their music at makerockhistory.com. From close to 8,000 submissions, 30 semi-finalists were selected, which were then narrowed down to the six top undiscovered bands in the country, with THE LAST VEGAS prevailing as the one band chosen for the ultimate, career altering opportunity — the chance to open on tour for rock icons MÖTLEY CRÜE.

In addition to the slot on MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s 2009 “Saints Of Los Angeles” U.S. tour (dates to be announced on Friday, November 14), THE LAST VEGAS also takes home $25,000 cash, $20,000 in exclusive new gear from Gibson Guitars, management from Tenth Street Entertainment, and a recording deal from Eleven Seven Music. In true CRÜE fashion, THE LAST VEGAS also found out that their career is literally going from “0” to “60” overnight and will be opening for the notorious rockers at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles this Friday, November 14. The band will record its first single immediately. It will be available as a stream on AOL on November 24 and as a download on iTunes by November 25.

Guitar Center On-Stage is a revolutionary platform for organically scouting and launching upcoming, unsigned artists in the music industry. The six final bands each performed three songs live for their potential tour mates and mentors, MÖTLEY CRÜE. However, it was THE LAST VEGAS that truly stole the night.

“The overall talent and energy of THE LAST VEGAS surpassed our expectations,” said MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s Vince Neil. “MÖTLEY CRÜE is excited to pass the torch on to these amazing musicians, just as Ozzy did for us over 25 years ago.”

Norman Hajjar, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Guitar Center noted, “We are thrilled with the outcome of the debut of the Guitar Center On-Stage initiative. The proof is in the amount of fans and bands that showed their support on the makerockhistory.com site — with over 500,000 unique visitors per month. Not only was this our most ambitious program to date, but also so fulfilling to provide a platform that discovers up and coming bands from across the nation, and now for THE LAST VEGAS. On-Stage marks a major milestone in Guitar Center‘s history for supporting aspiring artists.”

“From the label and management perspective,” said Allen Kovac, CEO and Founder of Tenth Street Entertainment and Eleven Seven Music, “We are looking forward to supporting THE LAST VEGAS, and taking the next steps to further launch their career and support them with innovative marketing, radio promotion, public relations and of course preparing them for the tour of their lives — with MÖTLEY CRÜE!”

Chad Cherry, lead singer of THE LAST VEGAS, said, “Guitar Center On-Stage has been an amazing journey so far and we are just getting started. It is hard to grasp right now, but we know our lives are going to completely change. Now we are ready to put on a killer live show and are ready to rock at the Hollywood Palladium.”

Last night, Eddie Trunk announced that XM41 The Boneyard is going to be removed off of the XM Radio Dial. Last night was the last show of Eddie Trunk Live of 2008. Sometime before the end of the week, The Boneyard will disappear off of XM41 forever.

Before you start screaming………………this is a temporary move as Sirius XM are juggling stations. Starting January 15th, The Boneyard will return to the XM dial, on channel 53, the station that currently holds the 24 Hour AC/DC channel. For you Sirius listeners, you will also get The Boneyard on channel 19.

While I hate to see my favorite station disappearing off of the dial, and as much as I think this is a boneheaded move by XM, I am glad to see that the station will return bigger and stronger, broadcasting over both satellite networks. Eddie Trunk Live is scheduled to return on January 19th.

It makes sense that the “youth gone wild” would play Rock Gone Wild! New Jersey rockers Skid Row will play the inaugural Rock Gone Wild festival in Algona, Iowa August 20-23, 2009. Tickets are available now.

In the beginning, there were five guys that set out to make a name in the music world. It didn’t take long for said boys to become men among an already crowded 80s Metal scene. They didn’t play by the rules, and they didn’t care: Skid Row was destined for success. Success indeed: the band’s self titled debut and follow-up Slave to Grind are both multi-platinum. Since that time, Skid Row has continued to make records and tour tirelessly. These days, Johnny Solinger fronts the band – with more energy than ever. Expect a live set to feature classic hits and newer songs from the albums ThickskinRevolutions Per Minute. Skid Row are Johnny Solinger (vocals), Rachel Bolan (bass), Dave “Snake” Sabo (guitar), Scotti Hill (guitar) and Dave Gara (drums). You already know Park Avenue leads to Skid Row. In August 2009, Algona, Iowa turns into Skid Row! and

Rock Gone Wild fans are able to purchase tickets at all three price levels: platinum, VIP and general admission. Platinum ticket holders are allowed exclusive access to the Sinners Lounge. The Sinners Lounge features buffet style lunch, dinner and nightly snacks daily; liquor and beer, soft drinks and water – all to enjoy in an air conditioned tent. The Sinners Lounge is the perfect nightclub setting for all rock fans! Platinum ticket holders sit in the first ten rows. Just 250 tickets remain at this price level.

Rock Gone Wild will take place at the Freedom Park festival grounds, located at 2507- 160th Avenue in Algona, Iowa. On-site camping packages are available. The Rock Gone Wild grounds will feature a general store for last minute purchases.

Skid Row joins Kix, Great White, Dangerous Toys, Helix, Saigon Kick, Rhino Bucket and Junkyard to the already announced Rock Gone Wild lineup. Visit www.rockgonewild.com or www.anatomyofafestival.wordpress.com each Tuesday for a new band announcement. Headline acts to be named soon!

DC4 featuring Jeff Duncan (Armored Saint, Odin), Rowan Robertson (Dio), Shawn Duncan (Odin), and Matt Duncan, has entered Skull Seven Recording Studio with fame producers Bill Metoyer (W.A.S.P., Slayer, Lizzy Borden, Armored Saint) and Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning) to record additional tracks for the upcoming official release of EXPLODE. The new tracks titled People and 25 to Life are being recorded and will be added along with a video and new artwork for an ‘enhanced’ CD package.

EXPLODE will see an official release in January of 2009. Plans for a CD Release Party and tour are currently in the works. Checkout the DC4 performances on Flashrock as well as a band interview at Rocklahoma 2008 here.

When The Darkness singer, Justin Hawkins abruptly left the band in 2006, the remaining members decided to carry on without him.

Former Darkness bass player Richie Edwards took over the lead vocals and Toby MacFarlaine joined the band on bass. The Darkness name was jettisoned, and band carried on under the new name, Stone Gods.

The Darkness got a fair amount of airplay on XM Radio’s The Boneyard over the last couple of years, but they were never a band that I could get into very much. Justin Hawkins vocals were a little over the top, in my opinion. I wasn’t sure what to expect with The Stone Gods, and much to my surprise, I found this new band much more to my liking.

“Silver Spoons & Broken Bones” starts off with a heavy metal rocker, “Burn the Witch.” This song sounds like it is left over from the NWOBHM era.

“Don’t Drink the Water” fuses together a catchy mesh of classic hard rock sounds and that brings bands like The Who to mind. The song fuses together classic rock guitar riffs with a punk rock vibe, and even sprinkles in a dash of reggae. It sounds like a band combination, but this is a really good song.

There are some Black Sabbath like jams on the rocking tune “Defend or Die“. Richie Edwards vocals keep this song from sounding to sludgy, but the metal riffs are well appreciated by this listener. This is one of those songs that you may not get into on the first listen. My recommendation is to play it again a few times. You may grow to appreciate this one as I have.

The Stone Gods show their sense of humor with the tune “You Brought A Knife To A Gun Fight“. This is another catchy upbeat rocker that would not sound out of place on the radio today. The guitar riffs could have been taken right off of any Buckcherry CD, but that is OK. I like this style of rock.

“Magdalen Street” is a mid tempo number that has a mix of southern rock styling and some guitar sounds that would more at home on a Chris Isaak album. It is a good song, but the sound here is completely different from the rest of tunes on this disc up to this point.

“Where You Coming From” is a modern rock tune with a southern rock flair. This is another song that grows on you.

Is is just me, or does “Lazy Bones” sound like a lost Soul Asylum track? I haven’t listened to Soul Asylum for a long time, but this song reminded me of them quite a bit.

“I’m With the Band” and “Wasting Time” both have infectious sing along choruses that will get in your head.

The album closes out with a tongue in cheek rocker “Oh Where ‘O My Beero“. This song sounds like a lost cut from Def Leppard.

It took me several listens to figure out who I thought Richie Edwards sounded like, and I finally figured it out. Remember Tommy Paris from Britny Fox? Edwards has that same raspy vocal style as Paris. The style of music may be different, but the similarities are there.

“Silver Spoons & Broken Bones” mixes together a variety of genres including hard rock, classic rock, heavy metal and alternative. For me, the harder tunes are definitely the best ones on this disc, but less heavy tracks are solid as well. From the songs I have heard from the Darkness, this album does have a different style, and the name change to Stone Gods is quite appropriate. This album joins a crowded list of solid albums in 2008.